This is part of a series of posts on what you can do to be more successful in your business this year.
Every one of us wants to make our business the best. We want our customers to know that when they work with us, they are getting the best service, the best product, etc. But how do you go about making our business better for your customers? What should you change?
First Care, Then Ask
According to Phil Morley, of NewsReleasePro.com, finding out what customers want is important and straightforward. First, you need to care. Then, you need to ask. Here is what Phil had to say when I asked him how a business could be more successful in 2010:
The number one thing a business can do to be more successful in 2010 is to develop empathy for the customer. In other words, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. People have a lot of choices these days on where to buy products and services, and they choose a vendor based on the total experience not just lowest price. As business people, our job is to deliver a better overall experience than our competitors.How do we learn what they are looking for, what they consider a ‘good’ experience? We ASK them. We ask them beforehand, where possible, what they would consider to be a successful experience using our product or service. We ask them afterwards how we performed, did the experience live up to their expectations? If they say ‘no’, then we make changes. If they say ‘yes’, we ask for referrals.Develop empathy for the customer. In other words, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. People have a lot of choices these days on where to buy products and services, and they choose a vendor based on the total experience not just lowest price. As business people, our job is to deliver a better overall experience than our competitors.
How do we learn what they are looking for, what they consider a ‘good’ experience? We ASK them. We ask them beforehand, where possible, what they would consider to be a successful experience using our product or service. We ask them afterwards how we performed, did the experience live up to their expectations? If they say ‘no’, then we make changes. If they say ‘yes’, we ask for referrals.
A Simple Plan
This is a simple plan, but one that often trips up small business owners. From personal experience, I know that there is often a disconnect between what a business does and what a customer really wants. In fact, the road to customer dissatisfaction is often paved with good intentions.
Build Asking In
Things would always turn out better if business owners took the time to get to know customers and to ask them what they want. Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and a favorite guru of mine, builds the ask into the sales process. The first step for him in launching a product and selling it is to do a survey. His goal is to find out if what he is thinking of offering is indeed what people want.
What if you did this before launching a new product or service, or doing a tweak? If you ask your customers and prospects if they would like what you are planning, you can get a good idea of demand. Maybe people don’t really want it, but they can tell you what the do want. And if a lot of people say that they love the idea, you have already built a list of active leads to follow up on when you launch.
Ask Out of Relationship
Getting to the ask can be as easy as a survey. However, it always works much better when you take the first piece of Phil Morley’s advice: empathize with your customer. By taking time to care about and to get to know your customer, you will have an easier time understanding them and an easier time talking to them. I suggest that you keep in constant communication with your customers. A weekly email is a very good idea. You’ll do a better job of it if you devote yourself to really getting to know your customers. And if they can see that you care for them, they will respond better and more often to your communication. In this way, you can develop a relationship where you can ask customers all sorts of things and really fine-tune your business to their needs and wants.
Become the Customer
You’ve heard of method actors. Marlon Brando used to “become” the character. Other actors do it today, not even dropping character in between scenes. You need to “become” the customer. Spend time with them, friend them on Facebook, ask them questions, think about their motivations. The closer you can come to understanding your customer, the better you can shape your business to meet their needs. Plus, you will naturally care for them and protect them, and they will feel that you are one of them.
Some pretty amazing things will happen to you if you start to think from your customer’s perspective and build your business accordingly. In my next article in this series, I will talk about some practical ways to build customer relationships and we will hear from a few more experts on the topic of customers.
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Bradford Shimp helps small businesses create and maintain a professional web presence at BroadRiverCreative.com.
